Moody's upgraded Cherkizovo's rating to Ba3

The international rating agency Moody's raised the corporate rating of Cherkizovo Group to Ba3 from B1. The outlook is "stable," the agency said in a press release. In addition, the default probability rating was upgraded to Ba3-PD from B1-PD.

"The decision to upgrade the ratings reflects Moody's recognition of the company's progress in improving its business structure, vertical integration and competitive positioning, as well as the successful integration of acquired companies and the expansion of production capacity," the report says.

Despite difficult macroeconomic conditions, Cherkizovo reduced its leverage: the adjusted debt/EBITDA ratio fell below 3.0x.

Vertical integration in the fields of grain and MEAT production allows Cherkizovo to limit the increase in costs and maintain good profitability, the agency's analysts believe.

The Cherkizovo Group is one of the leading producers of meat products in the Russian Federation. it unites seven complexes for the production of chicken meat (as well as the production complex of "White Bird", used on a leasehold basis), 16 pig farms, five meat processing enterprises, including the Samson Foods Group of Companies, in which the company has a 75% stake, two slaughter lines, nine feed mills, 12 elevators, a land bank with an area of ​​300,000 hectares, and a full-cycle turkey production complex in Tambov.